


Enter the Players

by Kestral



Series: Hex Ascending [1]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Gen, SBURB, original characters play sburb, this is never gonna be finished
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-03-13
Updated: 2012-07-03
Packaged: 2017-11-01 21:25:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/361427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kestral/pseuds/Kestral
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Act One: Two years before the game begins, we meet the heroes. How do we know what is lost and gained from the world ending if we don't know what we have to begin with?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

    Start  
  
    You wake up, and yet you don’t. You find yourself in your bedroom, well, almost your bedroom. The walls have changed from their normal green to a deep gold. It is unusual for your dreams to be so detailed, or so accurate. Machine parts, half finished sketches, and tools are strewn about your floor. The only part of the floor that is not covered by these things is the corner where your desk sits. Except in this room there aren’t any corners. On the desk are more sketches which have been pushed to the side to make space for a laptop. Your sister gave it to you on the condition that you make some friends online if you aren’t going to make any in real life.  
   You’re not anti-social, it’s just that you and your Sis move around a lot, so making buddies is hard. (Unlike Sis, you don’t insist on using outdated terms.) It doesn’t help that your name is Fern Anuket. This is a problem for such obvious reasons that you don’t even bother to think about it. You haven’t been making much progress on making online buddies either. It just seems a bit weird to click on a random name and say, essentially, “will you be my buddy?”  
    Oh well.  
The golden light coming in from your windows changes, turning paler, and then almost to blue. You rush over to one of the curving windows (the windows in your real room are squares) to look out it.  
    A city lies under your tower, anchored by a chain to a planet that you can see in the distance. There is a huge chapel on the planet, with six great spires pointing into the black sky. Everything, from the chain to the gothic architecture, is golden.  
Looking out across your moon -how do you know it is a moon?- you see two more towers that are much like your own also on the chained city. Suddenly, recognition dawns. So that’s what this is, stupid lousy subconscious! No wonder everything seemed familiar. Oh well, as long as you’re having this dream, you might as well see who your idiot of a subconscious put in the other towers.  
   You fly out your window and are immediately distracted by the clouds. The constant changing of colors and images are beautiful. However, they are making it hard to fly to one of the other towers.  
    “Hey”  
    You turn around to see a young man, of approximately your age, floating next to you.  
    “Oh! Hi!”  
    “I see you finally woke up”  
    “You’re from the other tower? I was expecting my lousy subconscious to put someone I knew there.”  
    “Uhh I’m not sure what to say to that”  
    “Oh well. Hi, who are you?”  
    “Hi my names Adam and I have decided that you are very strange whats your name”  
    “Err, I’d rather not say... And I didn’t mean ‘what’s your name?’ I meant, who are you?”  
    “Im not sure what to say to that either who are you”  
    “I’m an inventor of mechanical creations, an artist, and someone who is currently asleep and having an odd dream.”  
    “Its cool that you think of titles for yourself you seem very sure of who you are but you are still very strange and wont tell me your name for some reason”  
    Does this kid ever breath? Doesn’t matter, this is a stupid dream that you are having because you ate pizza before bed or something. Ignore that fact that you didn’t eat pizza before bed.  
    “Yeah, I guess I’m being weird. Oh well. This dream is interesting, I mean, normally my dreams are sort of meta, but this one takes the cake.”  
    “I have no idea what to say to that I have no idea what to say to anything”  
    “Ha ha! Ok, I’ll stop being such a social idiot.”  
    “Heh I like that social idiot Ill have to use that at some point so you’ve been cloud-gazing seen anything cool”  
    “Yeah, I saw this weird image of me and some guy I didn’t know sitting on the edge of a huge canyon. I guess my subconscious is sort of cool, if not original.”  
    “That does sound cool hey do you think I exist you keep talking about your subconscious”  
    “No, I don’t think you exist.”  
    “Im not gonna bother trying to change your mind Im gonna wake up soon so maybe I will see you tomorrow goodnight”  
    Adam turns around to fly back to his tower, leaving you feeling confused and sort of like an idiot. A few hours later, you wake up, and wish you could talk to him again. Who was he? What - no, he doesn’t exist. It was just a normal dream. It has to be just a normal dream.


	2. Chapter 2

     Be the other guy  
  
   A few hours ago, you woke up from an interesting, if disappointing, dream. You had been awake on Prospit’s moon for six years of your life and despite all the buddies you have made there, and all the kind-of buddies you have in real life, you have been impatiently waiting for someone from one of the other two towers to wake up. Then, to your delight, last night one of them did. And she thought it was just a normal dream. You were really annoyed! Here you are, completely real -at least you think you’re real,you are real, right?- and she thinks that you aren’t. You played it cool though, because you guess you understand. When you first woke up you started to think your first world wasn’t real. You eventually figured out that both were real, you’re pretty sure about that, but only pretty sure. That’s the thing, you can’t be too sure about anything existing.  
Yet she was so sure you didn’t exist, _and_ she refused to tell you her name. Insult to injury, right? And she was going on and on about how her subconscious was unoriginal. It was like she had seen a place like that before, but in her other life. But how? You’ve figured out that nobody in this world knows that even Skaia exist, and Skaia’s a big deal.  
Maybe she only recognized the tower she was in. Your house looks just like the towers on Prospit’s moon, except on yours the bottom floor is the atrium, and on the moon there are levels underneath it. But you never thought that your subconscious was being unoriginal. Of course, you were six and you can’t remember whether or not you knew what a subconscious was. Hmm, what kinds of dreams did you have before...  
    Your thoughts ramble away without pausing to breath, just like your speech does.  
    Lost in thought, you trip and stumble on a root that you didn’t see because it’s dark out. You wish you had a head for technology so you could rig up one of those cool transportalizers at school. Hey, that girl said she was good with technology, or at least that’s what you think she said. She was really confusing, and really certain about the wrong stuff, and-  
    “Hey, bro, are you ok?” Your older brother asks. Like everyone else in your culture, you live with your siblings. The adults live elsewhere and the only ones you ever have any interaction with are your teachers.  
     “Im ok hey do you think you could rig up one of those transportalizers at school”  
    “No, do you think I made them? All our cool tech was just in the house when I found it.”  
    “Still it would be great if you could maybe it would help with your challenges”  
    “Shut up, don’t remind me.”  
    Right, you just made the mistake of mentioning the challenges. The day after you turn fourteen you have to go through something called the challenges to become an adult. Your brother’s fourteenth birthday is in two weeks, and although he does his best to hide it, you know he’s scared. No one knows what the challenges are, and failure is terrible. Many who fail don’t survive. Because no one knows what they are, most thirteen year olds spend the year speculating on what the challenges are and attempting to prepare. But you’re sure your brother will succeed, he’s so cool, and you caught him scaling the side of your house in the middle of the night. After freaking out because you thought he was gonna fall and die you saw he was doing fine and fell back asleep.  
    That sort of thing is pretty normal for you.  
    “Uhhh so what time are you done with school today im staying late for football and track and maybe ill try out for that other game thats also called football for some reason but you dont use your feet wait that would involve being in more than one place at once or transportalizing a lot id prefer transportalizing a lot because being in more than one place at once seems confusing--”  
    “It’s ok, I’m not mad at you. You don’t have to babble on. And bro, you do way to many sports.”  
    “Ok”  
  
  
    Days in the future but not many  
  
    You are sitting on the roof of your dream-house with the other person who’s awake. You should really give her a name, if she isn’t gonna tell you her real one. Maybe Amy, you like the name Amy. Hey, you wonder if she still thinks you don’t exist.  
    “Ok person who still wont tell me her name now do you think I exist”  
    “Oh well, I guess most of the evidence points towards you existing.”  
    “I wish there was a way I could contact you in real life then I could prove that I exist and we could talk to each other more and that would be fun”  
    “That’s it! There is a way to contact each other in real life. Do you have a computer?”  
    “I think so theres probably one somewhere in my house I dont remember my waking life very well but I know it exists”  
    “Huh, that funny, I remember mine well. Anyways, assuming you have a computer, we could get in touch via this site called pesterchums.”  
    “Wait a minute I already use pesterchums welp”  
    “Problem solved. So my chumhandle is apparatusDesigner.  
    “ApparatusDesigner cool now I have a name for you but its really long maybe AD oh I know youre Addy”  
    “That works. What’s your handle? I should probably know in case you forget.”  
    “Its uhh oh come on I know this drat it Im sorry I just cant think of it ugggh this is frustrating normally this isn’t a problem ok it is I just normally dont have someone to talk to its so cool you woke up finally and now you think I exist wh--”  
    “Ok Adam. And I didn’t say I thought you existed, I said most of the evidence pointed towards your existence.”  
    You slump. you got so excited...  
    “But I hope you exist. There has been something I have been wanting to ask you but I want to be positive that you exist in real life.”  
    “Ok so youre just being over cautious with some cool secret that you dont want someone who doesnt exist to know wait that doesnt make sense”  
    “Hah! No it doesn’t. I just want an answer that I’m sure doesn’t come from my subconscious.”  
    “Ok that makes sense oh no now Im really curious are you sure you cant ask me now”  
    “Yes. Just make sure to message me tomorrow.”  
    “I will and sorry in advance if I message you at some weird time cause we probably dont live in the same time zone”  
    “It’s fine. Besides, I won’t be at school tomorrow.”  
    “Why not do you go to some weird school it is a Thursday tomorrow so I dont see why--”  
    “I got suspended.”  
    “What”  
    “I got into a fight. Scratch that, I picked a fight because I felt like it.”  
    “I dont know what to say you seemed like such a peaceful person ummm”  
    “You’ve known me for what, four days?”  
    “And youve been so nonviolent the whole time I--”  
    Your brother has always been very against violence. It’s sort of how you grew up. Being all peaceful and stuff. He even refused to let you sign up for some martial arts. Even the peaceful kind. You are sort of stressing out.  
    “It’s not like I’m about to attack you. Relax.”  
    “I--I just-- I dont know.”  
    “I can just hear you forget the apostrophes. It’s sort of odd.”  
    “What apostrophes dont make any noise how did you--”  
   “I don’t know. And yes, that’s why it’s odd that I can hear you leave them out.”  
    “I suddenly understand every- wait no nothing”  
    “Hahaha! Yeah, but I think you’ll understand someday. About hearing things that you can’t hear.”  
    “Did you see it in the clouds that would be an interesting thing to see”  
    “No. I didn’t see it in the clouds.”  
    “Then how do you know”  
    “I don’t know for sure, I just have a strong suspicion. Like how I don’t know for sure if you exist or not.”  
    “What gave you the suspicion tell me”  
    She smiles at you and says nothing.  
    “Arrgh why wont you tell me”  
    “My buddy would say I was play the archetype of the ‘cagy prophetess.’”  
    “I thought you said your sister gave you the computer so could make buddies.”  
    “Buddiesss. Plural. I have one, but we don’t talk much. She’s sort of annoying, but it’s nice to talk to someone.”  
    “Well now you have two and maybe if you didnt pick fights with people--” Ahhhgg! You weren’t suppose to bring up that topic again.  
    “That’s not the reason I don’t have buddies.” Her smile disappears.  
    “Ummmm ok sorry I said--”  
    “Relax I’m not mad at you, I’m mad at almost everyone else.”  
    “Ok still sorry I brought it up my brothers so against violence Im just nervous I dont really know what to say”  
    “It’s fine. Oh well." She smiles again, but it seems forced.  
    You sit in silence, watching the clouds. Ever sense you met Addy, your perception of her has been swinging wildly. Maybe that’s just what you get when you’ve been looking forward to meeting someone for a long time. You come up with your own personality for them. Then they wake up, and they’re nothing like you imagined. It’s sort of disappointing. As Addy would say, oh well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would love any comments you may have, even the negative ones. (I hope there aren't negative ones.)  
> I'm slowly working on putting this into color, so be patient.


	3. Chapter 3

Hours in the future  
      
    You are tinkering with a robot when pesterchums alerts you that someone is trying to contact you. You’re technically in trouble, but your Sis doesn’t care.  
    “Just so you know Fern, you are grounded. Have fun and do your homework at some point,” she told you before leaving the house to do whatever she does during the day.  
    On your computer you see poorly punctuated yellow text asking for someone named Addy.  
woodsyAthlete [WA] began pestering apparatusDesigner [AD] at 14:06  
WA:    Hey Addy  
WA:    Are you there I exist just so you know  
WA:    Hey Addy  
WA:    Hey  
WA:    You must be busy  
AD:    I’m here.  
AD:    You type very fast.  
WA:    Im impatient What were you waiting to tell me I had to wait hours  
AD:    I will assume that you are Adam.  
WA:    Der Who else would I be  
AD:    I don’t know. Anyways, I guess I have to ask you. Oh well.  
WA:    Whatisitwhatisitwhatisit  
AD:    Relax, it’s a stupid question. Anyways, have you ever read or heard of a webcomic called Homestuck?  
    There, you asked him. Lets get this probably world-ending train rolling.  
WA:    No  
WA:    Im sort of disappointed I was expecting something more Um I cant think of the word  
AD:    Profound?  
WA:    Yeah Why is this comic important  
AD:    Well, one, it’s interesting, and two, I really think you should read it. It’s important.  
WA:    That didnt answer my question You are being the cagy prophetess again  
WA:    So I just type in Homestuck into a search engine and bam Important comic I dont see what this has to do with anything  
AD:    Unless you pay a lot of attention you wont see how important it is until act three. Also, it wont show up on any search engine.  
WA:    Why And are you saying that a webcomic isnt on the web  
AD:    Yes. My buddy showed it to me. As near as we can tell, it’s not from this universe.  
WA:    COOL  
AD:    It’s a bit of a mystery. My buddy says that it is also stored outside of time and somehow keeps updating.  
AD:    Anyways, here’s a link. It will send you to a website and on that website is a link to MSPA (ms paint adventures). Click on the link that says Homestuck. It’s the only one on that page that works.  
AD:    Btw, almost none of the links work.  
    You send him the link, and check to see if your other buddy is online. Nope, but she probably will be soon. Her school will let out in about ten minutes.  
WA:    Ok Im there Ahh the kid just blinked Whydidntyousayitwasanimated  
AD:    Hahaha sorry.  
AD:    Ok, I’ll leave you to read your webcomic. And please, at least read until act three.  
WA:    Ok, see you tonight.  
apparatusDesigner [AD] ceased pestering woodsyAthlete [WA]  
    Ok, you still have a few minutes until she’s on. That’s not really enough time to continue work on your robot, it’s not really enough time to do anything, so you dink around on your computer for a bit.  
  
    Dink around on your computer for a bit  
  
    You do exactly that. Oh look, she’s logged on.  
apparatusDesigner [AD] began pestering literaryFanatic [LF] at 14:16  
AD:    Hi.  
LF:    hi fernny!  
LF:    long time no see!  
LF:    except, we don’t actually see each other  
LF:    ):  
AD:    I have something important to talk to you about.  
LF:    ok but before we get down to important business, we should talk about random stuff!  
LF:    your school is still going on at this time.  
LF:    there are three reasons why you could be talking to me right now.  
AD:    What part of important do you not understand?  
LF:    your school is closed for the day, you are sick ):, or your school was hit by a meteor.  
LF:    or you got suspended again ):.  
LF:    or idk.  
LF:    sorry that’s a lot more than three.  
AD:    That is two more than three. Also, the thing I need to talk to you about, It’s important!!!!  
LF:    calm down! that’s a lot of shout poles! do i need to go over there and start the papping and the shooshing?  
AD:    Oh Homestuck references, just what I needed.  
AD:    Seriously, I need to talk to you!  
LF:    i’d stop making homestuck references but...  
AD:    I’m not going to humor you.  
LF:    ...  
AD:    Really I’m not.  
LF:    ....  
AD:    Really.  
LF:    .........  
AD:    Oh well,  
AD:    ...but addiction is a powerful thing.  
LF:    :D  
LF:    ok, now what do you want to talk about?  
AD:    Agggh!!!!! You’re so frustrating!!!!!  
LF:    bluh, bluh, i’m a huge bitch. i’m listening now.  
AD:    Please stop with the Homestuck references. I really can’t handle it right now.  
LF:    are you going to respond with an athletic maneuver of some kind and win a metal or some shit?  
AD:    No!!!!!!  
AD:    Or actually yes, but I absolutely refuse to describe it in detail.  
LF:    ok i’m really listening now. does the important thing have something to do with why you cant handle (hehehe) homestuck references?  
AD:    Yes.  
LF:    does it involve mystery, intrigue, humor, and a good story?  
AD:    Maybe.  
LF:    I’m all ears!!!  
AD:    Actually, you’re all mouth.  
LF:    :D  
AD:    Ok, this is not a lead up to an elaborate role playing scenario like it usually is.  
AD:    And that sentence is absolutely true and also not a lead up to role playing.  
AD:    Neither is that one.  
AD:    I’m not sure how to show you how serious I am.  
LF:    just get on with it!!!  
AD:    Oh well. I sort of don’t want to tell you because I feel like that would make it more real.  
LF:    wow you finally have me listening and now you don’t want to talk about this “important thing.”  
AD:    Ok, oh well.  
AD:    I woke up on Prospit.  
LF:    there are two possible responses to this. Hee hee, she’s just roleplaying, or oh god oh god oh god oh god! the meteors are coming!  
LF:    because i am your best pal and it’s my job to believe you and i love a good story i’ll go with the second one.  
LF:    so oh god oh god oh goh og odg!  
LF:    shit!  
LF:     *so oh god oh god oh god oh god!  
AD:    I don’t think the meteors are coming any time soon.  
LF:    oh right, the clouds.  
AD:    No, its that, assuming that a webcomic that until recently I thought was complete fiction accurately represents what is going on, the people playing Sburb are always on the verge of maturity.  
LF:    so...  
AD:    When do kids become adults?  
LF:    fourteen. ohhhhhh.  
AD:    So we probable have about two years.  
LF:    whew. heyyy, was i on prospit’s moon?  
AD:    No, just two other guys.  
LF:    so hopefully i’m on derse.  
AD:    Yeah it would suck if you weren’t one of the heroes.  
LF:    awww :)  
LF:    was there anyones else awake? did you know anyone there?  
AD:    Yes there is someone else awake, and no i didn’t know him.  
AD:    But I know he actually exists, I just finish chatting with him.  
LF:    what’s his name? it would be so weird if i knew him.  
AD:    Adam.  
LF:    i don’t know any adams.  
AD:    Oh well.  
LF:    you two should go gather more info proto!  
LF:    find out what you’re the hero of. and your title.  
LF:    and find out if i’m a hero.  
LF:    actually, do that first. I need to know if i’m gonna be squished by a meteor or not.  
AD:    Ok, we will do our best.  
AD:    I don’t what I’ll ask though. “Have you met this person who may or may not be sleeping on Derse?  
LF:    :)  
LF:    you could cloud-gaze.  
LF:    look at the puffy oracles fernny!  
AD:    Really, you need to stop this constant barrage of Homestuck references.  
LF:    what we are talking about relates to homestuck, it would be unrealistic for me to not make homestuck references.  
LF:    also they annoy you, why in the universe would i stop?  
AD:    I know right! Why would my best buddy stop doing something that annoys me?  
AD:    Oh I know, maybe because they’re my best buddy?  
LF:    ;D  
LF:    also ask adam when his birthday is. all the players birthday must be close together, like mine and yours.  
AD:    Ok. I think I’ll go. I’ve got some robot tinkering to do.  
LF:    wait, if prospit is real, then are sylladexes real?  
AD:    I doubt it.  
AD:    It seems unlikely that we had them all along and never knew they were there.  
LF:    hold on i’m gonna try to captchalogue something.  
AD:    Holding.  
AD:    Well?  
AD:    Hello?  
AD:    Are you still there?  
literaryFanatic [LF] is now an idle chum!  
    You wonder what could be taking her so long. She normally reports things right away, in a very excited manner. She’s probably got her nose in a book looking for information. You’d wonder if she had ever even heard of the internet if she hadn’t just been using it to chat with you.  
LF:    fernny!!!! guess what!!!!!  
AD:    Based on the number of exclamation points I’d say you successfully captchalogued something.  
LF:    i know you’re excited :). you always pretend not be excited when you are!!!!!  
LF:    i bet you’re flipping you’re shit right now!!!!  
AD:    What did I say about not being able to handle Homestuck references right now?  
LF:    quit pretending not to be excited!!!!!!!  
    She’s right, you’re incredibly excited. You are looking around your room trying to decide what to captchalogue.  
AD:    How did you do it?  
LF:    know that you were excited????  
AD:    You know what I’m talking about.  
LF:    :P spoil sport.  
LF:    i picked something up and thought very hard about captalogueing it.  
AD:    It sounds rather simple.  
    Ah look, there’s a bolt sitting right next to you.  
LF:    it took a while to get it!!!  
    Well, now it’s in your sylladex, that was very simple. Why did it take her so long?  
LF:    now i’m trying to figure out how to get it out ):  
AD:    You tried to captalogued a book and started reading it.  
AD:    That’s why it took you so long.  
LF:    yupppers! we know each other too well!!!!  
AD:    I’m guessing you have a stack modus? That’s what I have.  
LF:    yupppers again!!!  
LF:    i guess it’s like the simplest one so everyone starts out with it?  
LF:    that doesn’t make any sense!!!! i think array would be simpler!!!  
AD:    Oh well,  
AD:    I think if I ever get array I’ll just stick with it.  
LF:    Shhhit!  
LF:    I just fired a book at a bookshelf on accident and knocked it over!  
LF:    got to go!!!  
LF:    bye!!  
literaryFanatic [LF] ceased pestering apparatusDesigner [AD]  
AD:    Wait!  
AD:    Ughhhhh.  
    Oh well, as soon as you get the bolt out of your sylladex you’ll get back to tinkering.  
    Hours pass, you and Adam chat about sylladexes. Apparently he already knew about them because his brother showed him. He keeps sending you commentary on Homestuck, and you have sense stopped responding.  
WA:    This is sort of boring  
apparatusDesigner [AD] is now an idle chum!  
WA:    Wait is the meteor heading towards his house  
WA:    Im so confused What is going on  
WA:    Rose is my new favorite character  
WA:    Oh no is John dead He cant be dead  
WA:    Never mind  
WA:    They have a really weird culture Why do they live with adults  
WA:    Dave is my new favorite character  
WA:    Is WV a chess piece I dont understand  
WA:    Jade’s house looks exactly like mine I need to talk to you  
WA:    Are you even reading this  
WA:    Addy I need to talk to you  
WA:    Its getting creepy how similar Jade is to me Not including dead grandpa and her dog  
WA:    Especially her dream  
WA:    ADDY PAY ATTENTION  
WA:    Why is Prospit in the comic Where are you Addy  
WA:    I think I need to go do something else  
woodsyAthlete [WA] ceased pestering apparatusDesigner [AD]  
    Whoops, looks like Adam needed to talk to you.


	4. Chapter 4

Be someone we haven’t met yet

 

Um, ok, you do that. 

  
    “Bam!”  
    Oh shit! You get thrown back.  
    “Bam!”  
    Oh no! Scrambling to your feet, you brace yourself against the door.  
   “Bam!”  
    Everything shudders, but you manage to keep your footing this time.  
    “Bam!”  
   Their makeshift battering ram attacks the door again. You hurry to replace the pieces of the barricade that have fallen  
    “Bam!”  
    The door splinters, but the barricade holds.  
    “Bam!”  
    You stumble onto the floor again. You hope with every fiber of your jostled body that they will give up soon.  
    “Bam!”  
    This was a terrible place to build a barricade. What were you thinking? If they leave, you’re gonna rebuild this thing one door back.  
    “Bam!”  
    They aren’t giving up, are they.  
    “Bam!”  
    They are gonna break through. The barricade will fall apart and you will be on your ass when they flood in.  
    What?  
    They didn’t strike again. You press your ear to the door.  
    “-strong. We should go talk to Leader.”  
    “I’ll stay here. Y’know, to guard.”  
    “I’ll also stand guard.”  
    “So will I.”  
    “Me too.”  
    “No. Only two of you get to stay here. The rest are coming with me to talk to Leader.”  
    “But he’ll be angry.”  
    “Yes, but we are still valuable. We’ll be fine.”  
    Someone mumbles something.  
    “I won’t hear any of that. Come on! We’re going.”  
    Another mumble.  
    “Now that’s more like it!”  
    They walk away. They didn’t break through. You’re still breathing. You shouldn’t be so fucking surprised, you have one well build barricade, and they’re just a bunch of kids. Well, you’re a kid too, so that doesn’t mean much.  
    You take apart your barricade as quietly as possible, then run with the materials to one door back. This room is a much better place to build a barricade. There are so many things to brace it against.  
    So they’re calling him Leader now. Before the “incident” he was always called Boss. Him with his stupid ideas about who should do what.  
    You can’t believe you used to agree with him. It wasn’t until he tried to kill _Theon_ of all people that you realized how crazy he is.  
  
Begin flash back  
  
“Children of the towN! It is our turn noW! The adults have always ruled over our doingS. This shall no longer be truE. We will take what should be ours from those changed by the challengeS! Come with mE! Chase them ouT!”  
“YES!” You shout with the crowd! “CHASE THEM OUT!”  
The adults huddle together, utterly defeated.  
    Boss raises his hands to quiet the crowd, preparing to speak again. Before he can, a skinny boy wearing blue bursts onto the podium.  
“are you all crazy? just what do you think you’re doing?” He asks them. “i don’t know what he’s been telling you but these people aren’t our enemies! they have never done nothing to harm us. These are your primary grade teachers, your doctors, your guides. Look at them!”  
    That’s Theon up their you realize. He’s been your best buddy since god knows when. What is that fool doing? Going against Boss’s orders? Does he have a death wish?  
“TheoN, You should step down noW. You-” He mutters something. Everyone strains to hear.  
“i’m undermining your authority? is that what you care about?!” Theon’s shouting so that the whole town can hear. “this whole “run the adults out to town" isn’t for our own good, it’s for one of your silly power plays!”  
Yup. That settles it. He must have a death wish. You start to push your way to the front. When the fighting starts, you know who’s side you’re on.  
    Boss’s face goes red. “You think humiliation will make me back dowN? I can’t believe i ever trusted yoU!”  
The crowd ripples. Shit, there’s a lot of people here. You and Theon are gonna get yourselves killed.  
“i can’t believe i expected you to keep your head and not go power crazy!”  
You are so dead. You fight your way through the mob and go over your plan. I, get to Theon, 2, grab Theon, 3, run really fucking fast.  
“Listen to hiM,” Boss -you’ve got to stop calling him boss- addresses the crowd. “He is siding with the adultS! But he has no good argument to make for them because there isn’t onE!” Theon tries to interrupt but your former (as of now) gang leader clamps his hand over Theon’s mouth, pulling him into a headlock.  
“All he can do is slander mE! What should we do with him?”  
    The kids roar. Now that you are no longer in the same mindset as your peers, it seems utterly barbaric. They are screaming for the blood of people they have grown up with. You cannot think of a time where you have been more terrified. Scratch that, you can’t even think.  
“What shou-”  
You leap onto the podium and punch him in the face, not bothering to draw your weapon from your sylladex. Well then, you’re on the podium. That’s step one completed.  
    Turning, you see the throngs of people staring at you. Yelling in anger. You’re gonna die.  
“come on! don’t just stand there. run!” Theon grabs your hand and pulls you into the group of adults. You guess Theon completed step two.  
    Together you flee into the crowd of adults.  
    Running through this crowd is much more difficult than the previous one. You can’t push anyone out of your way because they are all taller than you. Why are they just standing there? Maybe there was some truth in what Boss- still need a new name for him- said about adults being stupid.  
    One of them deliberately stands in your way. Yep, stupid as shit.  
    “Listen,” he says in something that was trying to be a whisper and a shout at the same time, “We’ll make a path for you two. You guys will run one way, we’ll run another. They won’t know who to chase.”  
“ok, hurry!”  
    The walls of people around you start to move. You and Theon take off again. Soon you clear the crowd and the pursuit begins.  
  
Back to the present  
  
    So yeah, that’s what happened. The adults fled the town, you and Theon went into hiding, got separated, and you got trapped in this house. You also decided to stop pretending to be “platonic,” whatever that shit means. You think that means he’s your boyfriend, which is cool.  
Apparently, you two are escaping tonight. Theon tells you how romantic it is, running away together in the wild, flying for your lives. You tell him it’s his god damn fault and you two will be lucky to survive it. He says D’: You just can’t stay mad at him, and it was stupid to be mad at him for that. Ah, speak of the fuckin’ devil, guess who’s messaging you.  
enthusiasticExtraordinaire [EE] began pestering disheartenedWarrior [DW] at 16:30  
EE:    <3!!!!  
DW:  hello  
EE:    :)  
DW:  how are you? are you ok?  
EE:    yes of course i’m fine. i wouldn’t have said :) if i wasn’t  
EE:    what about u?  
DW:  i’m safe for now, but i’m running low on food.  
EE:    :o!! good thing we’re going tonight.  
EE:    :(  
DW:  WHAT’S WRONG!  
DW:  IS EVERYTHING STILL ALRIGHT  
DW:  WHERE ARE YOU  
EE:    calm down, i’m just :(  
EE:    i will miss this town  
DW:  WTF HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN THAT EVERYONE HERE WANTS TO KILL YOU  
EE:    O_o  
EE:    no :(  
EE:    i just wish it didn’t have 2 b like this  
DW:  GOD SOMETIMES YOU ARE SO  
DW:  wait i need to calm down  
DW:  sorry. i wish it wasn’t like this as well  
DW:  so whats your plan  
EE:    it’s funny that i know u like me because u yell so much <3 :)  
EE:    it really shouldn’t b the case but I can tell u really care about me  
DW:  <3  
EE:    hehe :)  
EE:    the plan is at dusk i come over 2 ur house & shoot an arrow through ur window  
EE:    D-->  
DW:  where did you get an arrow? or a bow?  
EE:    I was hiding in the museum for a bit. shhh  
EE:    on the arrow is a string D ~-->  
DW:  i get it. the string is tied to a thicker string which is tied to a thicker string...  
EE:    yes smartypants OuO <3  
EE:    i stand guard with my awesome bow while u pull up the rope & secure it  
DW:  why did this plan take so long to come up with?  
EE:    it didn’t  
EE:    i had 2 learn how 2 fire a bow  
EE:    :) D-->  
DW:  ok  
EE:    i will b cupid or whatever D--> <3  
EE:    u should change ur chumhandle, it’s depressing D:  
DW:  when we are NOT IN A FUCKING DEPRESSING SITUATION I WILL CHANGE IT ACCORDINGLY  
DW:  sorry  
DW:  what’s the deal with enthusiasticextraordinaire?  
EE:    i’m enthusiastic, & it would b cool 2 b an extraordinaire :)  
DW:  what does an extraordinaire even do?  
EE:    i dunno, b extraordinary?  
DW:  then you’re already there  
    Oh my god that was terribly sappy. It was a stupid thing to think, and even stupider to type. Who even says things that sappy? He probably thinks you’re an idiot.  
EE:    d’awwww!!!! <3 <3 <3 <3  
Never mind, you forgot how sappy Theon is. He’s like a tree that has...uh...sap. Ok, that metaphor didn’t work like it was supposed to.  
EE:    :D  
EE:    c u tonight  
DW:  don’t forget to bring lots of food  
EE:    got it :)  
EE:    bye <3  
enthusiasticExtraordinaire [EE] ceased pestering disheartenedWarrior [DW]

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the next chapter. I know it says that this is a general work not dude/dude, but that is there for a reason. The romance isn't the point. Also, they're twelve. I'm not saying relationships between twelve year olds don't count, I'm just saying that the most that will happen is that they will send each other text hearts and hold hands at some point.  
> Don't let my slow updating pace fool you, I already have a ton of stuff written. Currently I'm working on act three and a lot of exciting things have happened! The only reason this doesn't update faster is because I'm lazy. Also, sorry about some of the formatting weirdities.
> 
> I would also like to say thanks to my Beta, who has commented on this chapter. Thanks for being a wonderful sea slug!
> 
> There also seems to be something weird going on with the notes so if they don't make any sense in relation to the chapter I just posted, ignore them.


	5. Chapter 5

Be Theon

You really should be eating something, but right now you’re to nervous to hold on to anything down, so instead you spend the time you reserved for that double checking your knots. You know the knots are all fine as this is the third time in this last hour you’ve checked them, but one can never be too careful. You’re actually checking the knots because you’re nervous and need something to fidget with, but nobody needs to know that.

Ok, you finish that, is the sun going down yet? You look out your - what was that noise? Oh that was you moving. Heh, you’re almost as high-strung as Alec right now, that silly guy <3 <3 <3.  


You know what, you decide the sun is going down now, because you can’t sit around any longer. What was that your ex-gang leader always said? “Time waits for no man but man sure waits for time.” You sent that to your internet pal because she likes to write stories and she collects cool phrases.

Sunset means time to get ready to go. First you wind the rope and string combination around your waist, noting how slim it is. You are normally a pretty wiry guy and these past weeks have not been kind. You hope Alec doesn’t notice, he worries about you too much. It’s sweet and all, but you are a perfectly capable twelve year old (in fact you think that sometimes you are more capable than Alec <3) and can take care of yourself.

Camo jacket over the rope and string. Camo isn’t very useful in the city, but you two will be hiding in the woods. You can’t help but quietly squeal at how romantic it is. Your squeal comes out hollow in the shadowy church basement, darkening the mood. No matter how hard you try, the mood always ends up darkening.

Tree modus all set up. You made the tent the root card, and set it to leaf. You figure that if you guys have time to set up a tent, you will also want to take an inventory, so why not make it inaccessible unless you take everything else out? Available are, food, water, first aid and a heirloom that was pressed into your hand by a teacher when you were running through the crowd. She had whispering of its importance: a sealed wooden box. With names like that you had to shit around with your modus for at least a half an hour. Ok, you’re exaggerating, it didn’t take that long.

Everything ready, off you go.

The streets are empty. Wind tosses a lonely paper bag down the street. It rustles with a familiar sound. It is the song abandonment sings when no one is listening. It makes you feel sad, and once again you feel that you are missing something. Something about you just isn’t right. Peace has eluded you, never letting you seek that which is missing. You are sure that somehow, you and Alec will find what it is that your destiny requires. Who knows? Maybe you already have.

“I seldom end up where I wanted to go, but almost always end up where I need to be.” - Douglas Adams.

You are in unconditional love with this quote. With it in your mind, you feel prepared for whatever evil the coming night can throw at you.  
  


Enough depressing stuff, be Adam

 

Adam is too busy flipping his shit and yelling at Fern in his dream. Maybe you should come back later.

  
Come back later   
  


You flit from shadow to shadow on your way to Alec’s house. It’s easy enough, as the shadows are lengthening. You feel so awesome, like a superhero or something. Maybe you could be that elf from that movie you and Alec once watched. He was so ninja, he ran up an elephant or something. You weren’t really paying attention, too many hot guys.

===>

You watch Theon scurrying around. What is that kid trying to do? He probably thinks he’s flitting from shadow to shadow. Oh, he’s drawn his bow from his strife specibus, you should probably get away from the window.

===>

You draw your bow from your strife specibus (bowandarrrowkind) so you can be more like the cool elf dude. You know this isn’t the time to mess around with silly stuff like this but being grim all the time gets tiring. One more shadow to flit to, then across the street and into a bush and you’re there. Off with the jacket and start unwinding the string/rope. Oh you could have put that in your sylladex. Darn it.

===>

What is taking him so long? You saw him get out his bow.

===>

Oh come on, the bow keeps slipping from where you looped it over your shoulder and getting in the way. You bet elf-guy never had this problem. Of course, you don’t think elf-guy ever hid in a bush under a camo jacket either. You don’t really remember, you were to distracted by the previously mentioned hot guys in the film. Whatever.

===>

What is going on? You haven’t heard any screaming or fighting. Is he ok?

===>

There, finally ready to fire.

===>

You better check. You poke your head out the window.

===>

Aim and - whoashit. You jerk the bow just in time to avoid hitting Alec’s silly head. The arrow flies through a different window, impaling itself in a cabinet. Luckily no one was in the room or the jig would be up.

===>

Theon’s making a “what the hell face” at you. You make a “sorry” face at him, and duck back inside. You need to learn that that kid normally has it under control.

===>

Ok, it’s simple enough, slowly pull the string back, and hope the arrow comes with it. At this point the string is more important than the arrow, but it’s best to save your arrow because you won’t be getting any more any time soon. Rats, the cabinet door is opening instead of the arrow pulling free. Hopefully no one notices.

===>

You hear a crashing sound two stories down, that is to say, ground level. You can’t help it, you look outside again. Theon is holding on to the string, looking pale.

===>

Tons of pans, crashing to the ground. You freeze up, you’ve been discovered. Ow, what? A pebble just grazed your cheek. Looking up you see Alec leaning out his window. You have to get moving, now.

===>

Theon pulls on the string hard, it looks like the pebble did the trick. He has the string now and grabs another arrow from his specibus. You get the hell away from the window.

===>

This is no time for panicking. Ok, it’s the perfect time for panicking, you just don’t have time for it. String tied to the arrow and fire, then grab another arrow and prepare to be attacked.

===>

The arrow’s in your room, it’s go time.

===>

A girl runs toward you and unlike Alec would, you don’t hesitate to aggrieve. You know her, and as she absconds with an arrow in her knee, you start to cry. From sadness, and from fear. Crying makes you more afraid because your aim will be off, but you don’t hesitate to draw your bow again and aim at the next strifer.

===>

You really hope that rope is secure, because it’s a long drop. You draw your aluminum broom from your broomkind strife specibus. You have a fucking stupid strife specibus. Unfortunately, when you were ten you thought is was a good idea.

===>

Alec is finally sliding down the rope, and you have never been so relieved. Kids have stopped attacking you because they’ve realized you meant business, but Leader, as everyone now calls him, has arive and has sent people out to find makeshift shields. Luckily he hasn’t noticed that you are quietly crying and probably couldn’t hit a moving target.

“are you ok? YOU’RE CRYING ARE YOU HURT!?!”

“i’m just scared. we need to go now.”

He grabs your hand and you both start running. You put your bow and arrow back in your specibus, you don’t want to shoot any more people. Letting Alec lead you, pulling you on, you leave the town you grew up in, knowing that your brother, the gang leader, will give chase.


	6. Chapter 6

Be the gang leader

A girl comes running up to you. 

“Leader! Leader!” She shouts. They all call you leader now, ever since you took over. Sure, while the adults were still in town you were always called ‘boss,’ never by your real name. It’s cool though, boss or leader sounds cooler than Sean.

“YeS? What’s uP.” You ask. Theon always said that it was weird, how you talked, but to you, everyone else sort of lamely softened their voice at the end of the sentence. You bring your voice loudest at the end, to make it more commanding. You think it works. 

“They’re escaping! The traitors are escaping!”

The traitors. Theon you dumb-ass, how did we end up on opposite sides?

“Then stop theM. You know hoW.” Those poor guys.

“We’re trying. Alec is working on getting a rope up to his room. We are trying to get to the rope but Theon is shooting everyone. 

“ShiT!”  That got your attention. “With a guN?”

“No, with a bow and arrow. He hasn’t killed anyone yet, but I think he could if he tried.”

“I’m cominG. Run ahead and tell the kids to back off but form a perimeteR. No sense is getting shoT.”

“On my way, Leader.”

You could just let the fools run, but no, that would make you lose popularity. Kids are as cruel as power is intoxicating. Every time they call you Leader, you feel it. You don’t want to give that up, not even for your brother.

As you expected, it’s chaos at the house Alec barricaded himself into. Kids are limping about everywhere with arrows in their thighs and knees. I used to be a street fighter, but then I took an arrow to the - shut the hell up, you don’t have time for silly thoughts like that. You stop wasting time and order people to find things to use as shields. Do these kids think?

Theon is swinging his bow around like crazy, making sure that you are all staying put. Hey, what’s that, a shine on his cheek? Aw shit he’s crying, poor guy. You think about using that to your advantage but that's just cruel. At least that will screw up his aim.

God damn it! Alec is sliding down that rope. Where’s your perimeter? Oh right, you sent them off to find shields. You can’t yell at them for following your orders. What would a real hero do if the villeins were escaping? He’d draw his sword and lead the chase despite all danger. A part of your mind whispers that this time, you are the villein, but you hush it with the thought that if you reach them first you can make sure they don’t get killed.

“Children to mE! Stop theM!” You hold your sword (yes you have a sword, no you are not very good at sword fighting) in the air for a moment, then chase the absconding fools.

**Author's Note:**

> Thus begins a huge fic. If you want to see it in color you'll have to dig through the mspaf fanfiction thread. Warning: the version on the forums is much less edited.


End file.
